The overheating housing market is finally showing signs of cooling, with price rises slowing for the third consecutive month, figures showed yesterday.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said affordability constraints following unsustainable increases, coupled with a fall in consumer confidence due to media reports that the boom was over, were taking their toll on the market.

During the three months to the end of November, 47 per cent more chartered surveyors in England and Wales reported seeing price rises than those who saw falls, down from 53 per cent in October and 58 per cent in September, although this was still nearly double the long-term average of 24 per cent.

And despite evidence of a slowdown in London and the South-East, the group said the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire and Humberside and West Midlands were still in the grip of the boom.

RICS national housing spokesman Ian Perry said: "There is a lot of speculation at the moment that the housing market is set to crash.

"We believe a slowdown in house price inflation is more likely, given a stable economic climate of low interest rates and low unemployment.

"Looking ahead to 2003, we expect to see house prices rise by no more than 11 per cent in the year, reducing to five per cent in 2004."

RICS said the main factor behind house price increases remained a shortage of properties on the market. The average number of properties each chartered surveyor estate agent had on their books fell again during the period to an average of 60, down from 62 the previous month.